Video killed the radio star

The week before Christmas Ray and I had dinner with my family at Artz Rib House. We waited awhile to get seated (who knew Artz is the place to be on a Sunday night?), but the food and music were worth the wait. A half order of ribs is enough for two, although I can certainly eat a full order solo.

Halfway through dinner, Dad starts asking about how the move is going, if we have enough stuff for the house, etc. I tell him we have all of the furniture/appliances in, except for the tv because we still have one of those old school box tv's, you know, the kind that were looted in Police Academy 4. My dad leans across the table and shouts over the bluegrass, "Do you want my old tv?"

"Sure," I said, really thinking, "SCORE!" - My dad is having a 60 year old crisis, where instead of buying a sports car, he upgrades every piece of electronic equipment quarterly, so the 46" Sony LCD HDtv was replaced with an even bigger plasma tv. Ray and I look at each other, trying to hide our excitement till the end of dinner. We get into my car, high-five and start doing the "we got a free tv dance", Ray looks at the back of my car and says, "I hope we have the room."

We drive all the way S. BFE to my parents' house. My dad tells Ray to come upstairs to help move the tv - the "outdated" LCD tv was demoted to my brother's old room. We follow him upstairs. WHAT?! Why is he looking at the 32" analog box tv sitting pathetically in the hallway? I give Ray a look that says, he's pulling our leg - he likes to play corny jokes like that, just play along. So I humor Dad and say, "awesome, yeah, we'll take that tv to the new house...hey, show Ray your new computer."

30 minutes after painfully watching my Dad trying to navigate between programs and listening to him serenade us with Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" while dancing in his seat, giving him multiple opportunities to reveal his "joke", I finally say, "So, we probably should get going, you're giving us that tv right?" pointing to the flat screen.

"Oh," says Dad. "You can have that one when I get a new tv to replace the one downstairs. But you can take the one in the hallway. We need to get rid of it."

2009 New Years Resolution

1. Don't Count My Chickens Before They Hatch

2. Buy a tv...any suggestions?

And they call it puppy love

We are almost done moving! Yay! Today we were able to move everything we're keeping downstairs so that the carpet can be cleaned next week. Exciting, but sad...I'm going to miss the proximity to the Barton Creek Greenbelt and being able to take Oso there. Luckily, Stacy Park is right across the street from our house and a short jog has become our morning ritual.

Monday is actually my favorite day of the week. 1) I'm off 2) Everyone else is at work. So it's just me and Oso all day long!

We're in love. He's the most perfect dog in the entire world and I would be totally content to just have him forever. But, we are adding one more to our litter...our new puppy was born January 6th. We're getting an Akita (American Akita, to be exact) and we have first pick. Ray wants a boy, but is slowly becoming open to a female. The puppies are from a breeder in Conroe, TX called Chateau Akitas. Click on Epiphany 2009 Puppies to see the most recent pictures. We're hoping to visit them mid February. Although we aren't sure which one we're getting, we have a name picked out: Kuma, which means "bear" in Japanese. We like bears. Sic 'em bears!

So I hope Oso adjusts well to the new puppy. Otherwise we'll just have to kick Ray and Kuma out :)

Here are some pictures taken from the ranch after New Year's:

Oso and the girls at the Pecos River, part of Bell Ranch.

My favorite picture of O.

Cuddling in the Custom Deluxe.

Oompa!

As much as I HATE to admit it, I am getting older. The most obvious sign does not come by way of wrinkles or gray hairs (phew!) but by baby announcements. In the first round of my early twenties, I looked forward to receiving save-the-dates and wedding invites because naturally, celebration of the blessed union = free bar! This second round of early twenties has included the same save-the-date excitement, but with an ever growing number of It's a ____!

So for all of the parents-to-be out there, I thought I'd pass along my favorite website of 2008: Oompa Toys. I love this site because they carry excellent toys that are educational and safe, as well as eco-friendly and organic baby gear. Parents can also create a wish-list that acts as a baby registry or birthday list. The site is pretty easy to navigate - you can search by toys made in the US or made in Europe. As many parents are aware, most toys are made in China and may have harmful amounts of lead and other toxins. Most of the popular brands on Oompa are based in Europe. Although some of these companies do have assembly in China, they are strictly monitored and have passed US and EU standards (each toy you click on has a tab for Safety where you can view which standards they have passed). The creator of Oompa toys also has a blog where she talks about relevant and useful topics, such as why healthtoys.org may cause unnecessary alarm about toys that are actually safe.

The main reason why I love this site comes down to their tagline:
NO BATTERIES. NO BLINKING LIGHTS. NO CARTOON-THEMED TOYS. PERIOD.

The early years of childhood are an essential time for learning and social-emotional growth. I believe that one of the most important ways we can support children is by providing them with an environment that is safe, loving, and open for imagination. Maybe I'm biased as an OT, but wouldn't we all benefit from a little less advertisement-driven character toy that uses potentially hazardous batteries to produce repetitive sounds and take the pretend out of play?

I may be old, but at least I still know how to play.